


they can break our hearts (they won't take our souls)

by gdiminyard



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Fusion, F/M, I REGRET NOTHING, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, a horribly self indulgent fic, basically anything that comes with the TFC characters, buckle in, the Foxes as Shadowhunters, the foxhole court x the mortal instruments crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-03 00:33:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10955991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gdiminyard/pseuds/gdiminyard
Summary: Neil Josten, formerly Nathaniel Wesninski, suffers from memory loss and hallucinations. Or so he thinks. A fateful incident brings him to believe that all the weird illusions he had seen and thought were a trick of the mind are actually very real and harmful. However, his memories continue to be a mystery. The Shadowhunters of the South Carolina Institute decide to take Neil in as one of their own, after discovering it wasn't actually memory loss, but magic keeping his past hidden from him. They teach him how to excercise his Sight, thinking he is just a human with past affiliations to their world. But they will soon find out Neil's true identity, when his past catches up with him.A Mortal Instruments AU with the Foxes as Shadowhunters, Neil saying he's fine more times than he should, and Andrew being Andrew no matter what universe he's on.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the most self indulgent thing I've ever done and I'm not even remotely sorry
> 
> after I thought of this crossover I simply couldn't not write it so, here you have the crossover fic no one asked for but ur getting anyway because those two series are my ULTIMATE favourite and the world gotta know
> 
> also HUGE thanks to my friends for going along with my shit and beta-ing the thing, I love you sm
> 
> I haven't done this kind of thing in so long, so please bear with me as I try to figure out how to get back to writing again
> 
> ANYWAYS ENJOY!
> 
> ~ PS: fic title is from Halsey's song Empty Gold (it's SO perfect for the Foxes, look it up)

 

 

He was being followed.

 

 

Neil Josten knew, from the moment he stepped into the mini market, where the staff room was, along with the back exit. He felt eyes on him even after entering the market, but no one else came in. Trying not to panic, Neil clutched his duffel bag and thought of what he did the past few days, trying to figure out what gave him away. He'd been as careful as ever, or so he thought, going through the same steps his mother used to tell him.

 

_Don't look back. Don't slow down. Don't trust anyone._

 

 

And yet. The feeling of being watched did not go away. He should have been halfway across the state by now, but he had put off shopping for the trip until the last moment. He realised, with no small amount of dread, that his car was too far away to find on time if he was to escape. He'd have to hotwire one from the parking lot or around the block. If he even made it that far.

 

Shit. _Shit_.

 

He didn't think this through. His mother would have been furious. She would have broken at least two ribs for this stupidity. She would have -

 

Now was not the time to think of Mary.

 

Cursing under his breath, Neil blindly started grabbing anything that looked remotely edible and within arm's reach, because trying to find a basket would just hold him back. It was the worst possible moment to get consumed by panic. He had to think clearly, and swiftly.

 

He hoped it wasn't anyone he knew. He hoped it was some underling he could easily trick, and not Lola, not Romero or Jackson - _now's not the time, dammit._

 

Neil tried to appear as calm as possible while mentally going through all possible cities and identities, as he rounded up his things for the cashier to scan. The cashier gave him a weird look, but he couldn't understand why, and was getting more worked up by the minute to really care. He simply stared ahead at the entrance as the sun set, trying to get a glimpse of someone, someone that he perhaps recognised. Neil looked back to the staff room only once, and decided it was not going to work out. While there were barely any people in the mini market, the cashier girl had direct sight of the double doors. He would have to wait until she was occupied with another customer to slip in the back. After putting all his stuff into plastic bags and paying, he made a show of remembering an important item he forgot, and promptly grabbed his bags and dashed back into an aisle. Neil waited, watching as another person rounded up to get their shopping scanned and completely blocked the view as he quietly slid through the doors.

 

The back room was empty and small, like he imagined, and the exit was just across. Suddenly reluctant, he inched his way closer, wondering if he should have just left from the main door like a normal person would. Perhaps that way, whoever was chasing him would have to back off until he was out of sight from bystanders.

 

But Neil knew his father's men would not let such a thing stop them, and finally made his way out into the back alley.

 

Neil held his breath for a few more moments, straining his ears to catch the slightest bit of sound. He didn't dare move.

 

Nothing but the distant sound of cars greeted him.

 

He didn't know how long he was standing there, but at last he was satisfied that whoever was looking for him hasn't looked through the back yet. Some doubt creeped into his mind as he finally loosened a breath. What if it was just all in his mind? What if Neil actually had hit his head a time too many and didn't realise just how bad it was?

 

That kind of thinking never ended in a good way.

 

There was a dull thud from somewhere behind him. Neil reacted a second too late.

 

Before he could turn to see, something hit him hard on the head, and he tumbled down.

 

Yeah, definitely a hit too many. His mother would have been really fucking upset.

 

 

Neil ignored the stinging on his palms as they scraped on the ground, and instinctively reached into his back pocket to palm out a knife. The thing still made him uneasy to look at, much less to wield, but it was still early and a gun would have been too messy. Besides, he didn't have one.

 

Neil turned around swiftly, expecting to see some kind of hitman, or one of his father's inner circle like Lola. But instead -

 

He blinked once, twice, thinking that yes, he had to have hit the ground too hard, and now he was seeing things again.

 

Because what he saw was definitely not a human. 

 

Problem was, he didn't know what it was, either.

  
Neil wasted two precious seconds trying to understand what he was witnessing when something collided with his stomach and he went down once again. He didn't yelp, but a choked gasp escaped his mouth as the breath was knocked out of him. There was a _whoosh_ as the...thing neared him for another blow, and he jumped back just in time, scraping his elbows and knees as something hit the ground where he was previously crouched on. He looked up, wide eyed.

  
It was a tail, black and barbed.

  
Okay, now Neil was panicking.

  
Usually, whatever he thought he was seeing never attacked him. He never told his mother about it, because he wanted his ribs intact and any problem with him would just slow them down, but whenever it happened it was fleeting and harmless.

  
No, his hallucinations never tried to attack him. But this wasn't a hallucination, Neil thought as he looked down and found three new scratches across his abdomen. Luckily, they weren't too deep or fatal. He would not be as lucky next time.

  
There was no time to think of the _possibility_ of this situation, because the threat was very much real and intent on swinging at him until he went down. The thing lunged again, and Neil instinctively brought his knife up. The thing, probably not expecting him to fight back, let out an inhuman shriek as it backed off, blood oozing across its front.

  
Except it wasn't blood. It was black and runny and the stench got worse, enough that he would have wrinkled his nose if he hadn't already taken off running.

  
Neil was a fast runner. He knew that much, knew that he was better at running than fighting, so he bolted out of the back alley. And made it so far as the corner of the mini market when something swiped his feet off and he crashed his head on the ground yet again.

  
This time the gasp was more audible as his vision came and went, and he fought off the feeling of nausea.

  
This was bad. This was all kinds of bad.

  
Neil tried to sit up, and another wave of nausea had him flat on his back. If this was how he was going to die, he thought ironically, in a dark alley from head trauma and stab wounds-

  
Voices approached him first, then forms.

  
Not forms, he thought as he watched them near him up, their voices carrying across the empty parking lot ahead. People, dressed in black.

  
There were more weird sounds as the thing was being confronted by some of them somewhere in his peripheral vision, but if he strained to look it would only make him feel worse. He swallowed back the bile in his throat.

  
The person that was now crouched close to him was talking, and Neil tried his best to follow along what was being said in order to keep awake.

  
"...should be done soon, and then call them an ambulance."

  
At the word 'ambulance', Neil was instantly seized with panic and real fear. His hand shot up, grabbing at the stranger closest to him and tugging at their sleeve. "No..." He croaked. "No hospital...please." If he ended up in a hospital, it would be game over. Everything he and his mother had fought for would be for nothing. He survived years on the run without a hospital. He wouldn't need it now.

  
Neil wasn't sure, but he thought the stranger made a panicked noise. "What?" they said. "You can see me?"

  
Neil thought he definitely had to be hallucinating at this point, and his concussion did not help. He tugged at their sleeve again, more urgently. "No hospital," he breathed. "I'm fine."

 

And everything went dark.

 

~

 

Neil woke up to the sounds of people talking.

  
He was halfway across the room in an instant, barely registering the pain in his abdomen and the dull pounding in his skull. He looked up, blindly, half expecting to see Lola or his father -

  
Four strangers were staring back at him, their faces cautious as his sudden movement stopped their conversation short.

  
No, he thought as his eyes drifted from each one's faces and settled on the tallest figure by the exit. Not strangers. He would recognise the green eyes peering back at him anywhere.

  
Kevin Day was not a stranger.

  
A shaky breath escaped him as he stared at the familiar features, at the number 2 high on his cheek. Hazy memories surfaced, and a new, different kind of pain bloomed in his head. He winced.

  
Movement from somewhere in his peripheral vision caught his eye, and Neil watched as the figure inched closer to Kevin, stepping in front of him in an almost protective manner. It would have been funny; the blonde guy now standing between them was almost a full head shorter than Kevin, and Neil realised with a jolt of surprise that he had a few inches on him as well. It wasn't every day he found someone shorter than him.

  
It would have been funny, but if Neil was good at something, it was reading people's intentions in their body language. That, and never underestimating anyone. And the blonde guy seemed more than capable to him, despite the casual stance and the unimpressed look on his face.

  
"Where am I," he spoke carefully, trying not to aggravate his headache further.

  
"You're at the Institute," a voice piped up from somewhere behind him, and Neil whipped around to see another tall person by a large window, overseeing...nothing. Neil's stomach flipped. It was still nighttime, but if he wasn't on a ground floor, it would complicate things.

  
"You should rest," said the person again, and Neil focused back to him. This guy actually smiled as he looked at Neil, seemingly unaffected by his expression. "You took quite a hit to the head," he continued, "and you were pretty insistent on not taking you to a hospital. So we brought you back here. Figured it should be alright, since you could see us and everything. I'm Nicky, by the way."

  
Neil blinked, startled at all the sudden information. He looked around at the scarcely decorated room, thinking it was probably used as a resting area of sorts. Wherever this _Institute_ was, it didn't appear to be a threat. At him, anyway. He could tell they were all armed, even if it wasn't visible. That enough should have worried him. But despite himself, Neil was slowly relaxing as he walked back to the bed he was previously resting on. Still, he didn't let his guard down for a second.

  
"You were attacked by a Ravener demon," a deeper voice said, and Neil tried not to wince again. Right, Kevin Day was also in the room.

  
"Am I supposed to know what that is?" he muttered, rubbing at his temple absent-mindedly. Out of all the scenarios he thought about getting caught, this was by far the most surreal.

  
"Well, you have the Sight, don't you?" Nicky said, approaching Neil hesitantly. "That's why you could see us. You can see things others don't, things that don't make sense."

  
At that, Neil loosened a breath. "That's not it...I just...I thought I was just seeing things," he said, trying to explain. God, he was horrible at this.

  
A scoff from the blonde guy still standing in front of Kevin. "I don't know if you're crazy or not," he drawled, "but they're pretty real. You almost died by one of them," he added, tone conversational like he was discussing about the weather.

  
"Andrew," Nicky chided, and the guy -Andrew- simply waved him off. "You'll forgive him," Nicky told Neil, "he's still learning how to behave like a normal person."

 

Neil almost said that he had no idea how a normal person was supposed to act like, either, but decided against it.

 

Instead, Neil turned his attention to Kevin, gauging his expressions as he stared back at him steadily. No flash of recognition, no reaction. His stomach clenched again. Did Kevin actually not remember him? Sure, he had changed his hair colour and was still wearing contacts, but even so.

  
Another thought made his head throb painfully. If Kevin was here, was Riko too?

  
"You should be fine in a few days," Nicky said, throwing him out of his thoughts. "And then you can go back home. Where do you live?"

  
_Nowhere, everywhere_. Neil shrugged. "My car?" he said, reluctantly.

  
It was partially true. He slept in cars so he wouldn't have to spend money on motels. They just weren't his.

  
Someone let out a disgusted noise, and Neil looked up at the figure that had stayed quiet until now, leaning against the wall farthest from him. He looked exactly like Andrew. "Oh, great," he muttered. "Another stray."

 

"You're one to talk, Aaron," Andrew said, with the same conversational tone as before. His twin, Aaron, scowled, but said nothing else.

 

Nicky shook his head at them, and turned to look at Neil. "We retrieved your bag, but you would have to go back and get the rest of your things eventually."

  
Neil almost collapsed with relief. His duffel bag was the only thing he had. Everything he owned was in it. "That's all," he told Nicky, shaking his head. That saved him from going back to the market to search for it.

  
"What? Seriously?" Nicky exclaimed, making Neil wince. He shot him an apologetic look. "Right. Sorry, my bad."

  
_But what if they looked through your things?_ Said a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like his mother's. _Stupid_. _Careless_.

  
_They would find nothing_ , he thought back. Nothing but a handful of clothes, a packet of money and a journal that made sense to no one else but him. Still, once Neil thought about it, it didn't go away. He shifted, suddenly nervous. "Can I have it?"

  
"You sound awfully calm for someone who found out the monsters under his bed are real only a few moments ago," Andrew replied, hazel eyes boring into his.

  
Neil frowned, and shrugged. "I thought it was all in my head for years. I guess I'm just glad to know I wasn't actually crazy this entire time." He didn't add that he was relieved, because if Neil had told his mother he was seeing things that weren't there, she might have killed him herself for being utterly useless. Of course, that complicated his memory issues even more, but that was his problem to worry about.

  
Andrew's expression didn't change. He simply raised an eyebrow and mused, "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

  
"Andrew, enough," Nicky said, groaning. "Let the poor kid be, he almost died."

  
Once again, Neil refrained from telling Nicky that he "almost died" every day.

  
"Can we go now?" Aaron grunted as he finally moved from his spot, and walked towards his twin. Next to each other, Neil could tell them off by the expression on their faces. Aaron looked permanently annoyed, and Andrew permanently disinterested.

  
"Right, yes," Nicky said, looking at them with an odd, almost sad expression. When he turned to Neil, it changed to an easy smile. "You should sleep some more. You'll see the others tomorrow." He walked to the others with a sigh. "There's a button on the wall next to your bed; ring if you want something."

  
Neil was very much not going to press that button. He almost asked _why are you being so nice to me,_ but decided he had pressed his luck enough for one day.

  
As he watched them leave, one by one, he thought back to all that happened today, making a mental list.

  
Good news: he wasn't crazy or hallucinating. Bad news: everything was real and very much tried to kill him. Good news: he wasn't killed. Bad news: he was in a place he didn't know, with people he didn't trust, alone.

  
Even worse news: Kevin Day and possibly Riko Moriyama was with them. Neil might be good as dead for all he knew.

  
In the morning, he decided. If nobody came for him during the night, he'd run in the morning.

  
Andrew was the last to go, and he stood at the entrance, glancing back at Neil. As if reading his thoughts, he said: "I wouldn't take any night walks if I were you. The Institute is quite large and confusing if you don't know where to go. We wouldn't want you getting lost, now, would we?"

 

With that, he left and shut the door behind him, leaving Neil alone with his thoughts.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that was the first chapter!
> 
> what did you think? I'm very bad at trying to set up a pace and this is just the beginning.
> 
> but hey Neil met the monsters!
> 
> next up, the upperclassmen ~
> 
> come yell at me about both series on my tumblr: http://giovi-gee.tumblr.com/


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU GUYS ARE SO AMAZING OMG I never expected this fic to blow up?? holy hec k
> 
> thank you so much for all the comments and the kudos on chapter 1 aaaa ;; ilu <3 <3
> 
> I'm still trying to set a smooth pace since it's the beginning and I wanna include important stuff from both stories, so that's what chap 2 will be like as well. But I promise the story will pick up soon after this!
> 
> ALSO happy Lord of Shadows launch day! (yea I know it's been out for almost a week already shush) I'm reading it as I'm brainstorming about the fic and it's helping me immensely <3 plus I missed my children so much ahhhhh it's good to be back
> 
> PS: I'm neither american nor good at geography, I do my best with google and what we know about locations in TMI and TFC, so if I make any mistakes I apologise (and don't hesitate to point them out to me!) (that goes for grammar/syntax errors too)
> 
> Hope you enjoy! ~

 

 

 

It didn't occur to Neil until later that night, when he had retrieved his duffel bag and went through his things twice, that somebody had patched him up. Meaning, someone had seen his naked torso, and the myriad of scars all over his front. The thought did not sit well with him, to say the least.

 

Despite everything that happened, he got little to no sleep. The fact that he was not alone in a place he didn't know set him on edge, even if the building was so quiet it seemed uninhabited. The door of his room was safely locked, but that did little to reassure him.

 

Truthfully, there was nothing that could reassure him. So Neil slept fitfully, and only for a couple of hours.

 

He also realised rather quickly that Andrew was right. Neil went out of his room once, and decided it wasn't worth it. The hall outside stretched out from both directions, in a seemingly endless row of white doors like his own. After peeking inside the first few rooms, it was clear they were all resting areas, empty and unused. He had walked back into his own, not knowing what he expected.

 

The next day was even more unusual.

 

Neil met the rest of the Institute's occupants once an overly chirpy Nicky escorted him downstairs that morning so he wouldn't get lost. "I was hoping I'd get to wake you up," Nicky told him, throwing a wink at Neil over his shoulder. Neil decided not to bother trying to understand.

 

Nicky led him through another long hall, this one with a few paintings on the walls that made no sense to him. The floor was covered with a nice, long carpet. The ceiling was much higher than he thought, but so far the place looked fairly normal. Then again, Neil had no idea what to expect. He could be walking to his death for all he knew, and never had an eye for such things.

 

Nicky turned left, and led Neil through a smaller corridor, to the only room in that area, which looked to be a kitchen. Nicky came to a stop once he entered the room, and Neil followed, a bit more reluctantly.

 

"Your attention, please!" Nicky announced. Neil stifled a flinch at Nicky's way-too-excited tone so early in the morning.

 

Everyone but the twins turned to look at them.

 

Five pairs of eyes landed on Neil, a mix of curious, interested, and grumpy. Neil tried not to fidget at the sudden attention.

 

"Everyone, this is Neil. Neil, this is everyone. They've all been waiting to get an eyeful of you. Relax, make yourself at home. Pancakes?"

 

Neil only managed a small shake of his head, not trusting his voice at that moment. If Nicky noticed his discomfort, he didn't comment on it, simply walked past Neil in pursue for more food.

 

Neil had to admit it was a spacious room. But then, he supposed, it would have to be, with so many people apparently living here.

  
There was still no sign of Riko. Neil dared hope.

  
A tall, muscly girl with chopped short hair approached him, extending her hand at him. Neil stood still for a beat, clearly taken aback. Whatever he expected, it wasn't a handshake. He took her hand in his a moment later. Her grip was firm and sure.

  
"I am Dan," she told him once they both stepped back, surveying each other. "I run the Institute when Wymack, our boss of sorts, isn't around."

  
"I'm Neil...Josten," he said after a moment of uncertainty.

 

If Dan caught on his pause, she didn't show. "Nicky said he and the mon- the rest found you after you were attacked by a demon. In Millport, right? You're in South Carolina now."

  
There were a dozen and one things Neil wanted to ask. Who were these people? Why was he here? Or rather, what was going on to start with? What was that thing that attacked him and why?

  
In the end, what came out of Neil's mouth was only, "Why?"

  
Dan frowned, perplexed. Another voice answered him instead, a shorter girl with white hair and multicoloured highlights, sitting behind Dan and next to a blonde girl who paid no attention to them. "Hello, I'm Renee. This is Allison. You are a human, right? You didn't know you have the Sight." At his expression, she smiled. "Has there been...things, before yesterday? Things you were seeing but couldn't explain, that nobody else saw?"

  
It went against everything he had told himself, to admit his worries. _No_ , his mother's voice hissed in his head. "Yes," he said out loud, carefully.

  
Renee nodded at him, encouragingly. "When was the last time it happened?"

  
This was the part that hurt the most, he thought as memories flashed before his eyes. The part that, no matter what, he couldn't excuse as head trauma or hallucination. As he had set fire to that car, his mother's battered and broken body still inside. As he took what was left of her after, and buried the remains in a forgotten beach in California.

 

Neil had felt eyes on him everywhere. Not because of some paranoia or post-grief stress. He never got to properly grieve his mother, anyway. But because there _were_ eyes on him. Shining behind the scarce trees. Through the sea.

 

As if the whole world collectively held its breath, as Mary Hatford ceased to be.

  
Neil contemplated, despite the events of the past few hours, how much of this to say out loud to a bunch of strangers. He took a deep breath to steady himself and said, with a calmness he didn't actually feel, "A year ago. When I lost my mom."

  
The word 'lost' almost had him laughing out loud. It was the mildest way to put it.

  
Someone made a noise of sympathy, and a guy taller than Kevin approached Dan. He put an arm around her shoulders, tucking her closer to him. They seemed so at ease around each other, Neil thought, and wondered why the thought made him uncomfortable.

  
"We're sorry to hear that," the guy said, offering Neil his hand too. "I'm Matt. You're free to stay here as much as you like. Did you live in Millport?"

  
Neil considered how much he told Andrew and the others, and why they decided to keep the information from the rest of their friends.

  
"No," was all he said, and let it at that. He was done talking about his mother for now.

 

Afterwards, it was a rather awkward but lengthy talk as the strangers -the _Shadowhunters_ , as they called themselves- explained what they were and what they did for a living.

 

"We have been around for quite a while," Dan had said. "Protecting the mundanes from demons slipping through cracks in dimensions, making sure other creatures like Downworlders follow the rules. It is a rowdy, dirty job, and not all of us make it. But someone has to do it."

 

"It's more than just our job," Matt had added, smiling. "It's what we were made to do. Our very existence was created for that purpose. It's all we know to do, really."

 

Allison had spoken up for the first time since Neil had seen her, then. "I learned how to hold a seraph blade before I learned how to write."

 

Neil had barely concealed the full-body reaction to those words. If anyone noticed, they must have passed it off as shock to what she had said.

 

All but Andrew, who had been looking at Neil the entire time, who never seemed to miss anything. Neil had tried not to let it get to him. Under Andrew's watchful gaze, Neil felt like an open book, all his secrets out in the open for him to read.

 

In all honesty, Neil should have probably grabbed his stuff and ran the moment they left him be. Would have, but it wasn't the weirdest thing he had seen or heard. If there were demons, and creatures in between, why not angels too?

 

Still no talks about Riko, from Kevin or the rest. Was that what Kevin was, what Riko was? He didn't remember them like this, with their arms and torsos covered with those intricate magic runes. No other marks except the _1_ and _2_ on their faces, that Kevin still sported, now permanent. Would that even change anything, if it was true? They were children back then. It would have made no difference to him, would it?

  
Neil wondered, not for the first time, if his apathy towards some things would be what got him into the most trouble in the end. But he had remained alive for so long by constantly looking over his shoulder; by double and triple checking, never letting anything catch him unprepared.

 

Neil knew Andrew had kept watching him while the rest had explained, even if he didn't look towards him again. He hadn't spoken once the entire time, and Neil didn't know what he had kept trying to find on his face as he took it all in. 

 

Nicky and Kevin had offered to show him around to the weapons room and training area, Aaron trailing behind then and completely ignoring him. Neil had dodged it by mumbling he would look around later. He had a vague idea of how said weapons room would look like, with blades and knives of all shapes and sizes hanging around on full display, and wasn't quite ready to check for himself yet.

 

"You should let Abby take a look at you when she gets back," Dan told him, as they had each gotten up and moved away from the kitchen.

  
"Abby?" Neil asked her.

  
"Our nurse," she explained. "The one who bandaged you. Usually when we get injured, we use runes to heal ourselves, unless it's pretty serious. But you can't use them, since you're a mundane."

  
That was another word he had to get used to being called, he thought. He was not about to explain why he absolutely shouldn't have Abby see him again. Somehow, he doubted she wanted to.

  
In the end he had just nodded at Dan, and they had all left him unsupervised to wander. He marveled at how easily he was given free reign to do as he liked. It had to mean something to let a stranger wander in their house alone.

  
At least, he was alone for the first few minutes.

  
There was no telling, but something had started to feel off after a while. Neil didn't react at first, willing himself not to tense and letting whoever was following him approach.

 

Then, he spun around.

  
Andrew was standing a few feet away, as if caught mid-step. He looked at Neil with slightly widened eyes, and quickly schooled his expression back to bland indifference.

  
He had surprised him, Neil realised. That was the first emotion he had seen on Andrew's face.

  
Andrew asked, "how did you know I was there?" in the same bored tone as before, but something in the way he said it made Neil think he actually was curious to know, and didn't want to show. He was getting to great lengths, it seemed, to come off as disinterested as possible.

  
Neil shrugged, and rubbed the back of his neck. "I can tell when I'm being watched," he said, not bothering to explain. He could tell Andrew was waiting to hear more, and when Neil didn't speak again, Andrew raised an eyebrow as if to say, _really?_

 

He shrugged again. Just because the Shadowhunters had trusted him with their secrets, didn't mean he could blindly trust them with his. He had earned it, in their eyes. That was the only explanation that made sense to him. Why would they all talk to him, otherwise?

 

So, they'd have to earn it from him too. It was only fair.

 

"Was it you who went through my stuff?" he asked instead.

 

Andrew's right hand twitched ever so slightly; that was the second time Neil had caught him by surprise. This time, he hid it faster. "Brown is boring," he said as a way of replying. "What else are you hiding, runaway?"

  
So Andrew had found his contacts' case. Neil refused to answer.

  
"I don't trust you," Andrew told him, casually. "You don't add up."

  
"I'm not a math problem," Neil told him.

  
"But I'll still solve you."

 

_Good luck with that_ , Neil thought, and walked back to find the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if u think I will take advantage of this and hide actual tfc quotes around the story then ur absolutely right
> 
> next up: the monsters go clubbing. Neil is invited. it goes as well as you'd probably expect.


End file.
